Medical equipment with diversion mechanism

Abstract

A method for identifying medical diverters includes identifying users having similar job functions. Use data indicative of user access to a medication dispensing system is retrieved and is analyzed to identify periods of use of the system for users. Boundaries of work shifts are determined and users are organized into work shifts based on periods of use. A comparison period is determined. Diversion data indicative of behavior associated with diversion for each user is identified. A diversion score indicative of a likelihood that a user is diverting medication is generated by averaging the data by shifts worked for each user and statistically comparing the averaged data. Diversion scores are combined for a medication type to generate a group score. A consistency factor is determined and an overall score is generated. A determination whether any overall scores exceed an overall threshold is made. Users whose score exceeds the threshold are flagged.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters, the medication dispensing system comprising:
 an interior comprising a plurality of compartments where items are stored; 
 a plurality of doors providing access to the plurality of compartments of the interior; 
 a plurality of mechanical locking mechanisms, wherein at least one of the plurality of mechanical locking mechanisms is engaged to secure at least one of the plurality of doors, each mechanical locking mechanism being configured to physically lock the at least one of the plurality of doors in a closed position, wherein in the closed position the at least one of the plurality of doors prevents access to at least one of the plurality of compartments of the interior; 
 a communications interface that is in communication with an additional medication dispensing system that is remotely located from the medication dispensing system; and 
 a computing device, the computing device comprising:
 a memory; and; 
 a processor configured to:
 identify a user pool, the user pool comprising a plurality of users having similar job performance functions; 
 retrieve use data for each of the plurality of users from the medication dispensing system, wherein the use data is indicative of when each user accesses the medication dispensing system; 
 analyze the use data to identify periods of use of the medication dispensing system for each user within the user pool; 
 determine boundaries of work shifts for each user based on the periods of use; 
 organize the use data into work shifts, wherein each work shift defines a contiguous period of time that a particular user of the plurality of users worked; 
 determine a comparison period comprising a time period within which users of the user pool may be compared; 
 identify diversion data for each user within the comparison period, the diversion data being indicative of behavior associated with diversion of one of a plurality of particular forms of at least one medication type; 
 generate a diversion score for each of the plurality of particular forms of the at least one medication type by averaging the diversion data per number of work shifts worked for each user during the comparison period and statistically comparing the averaged diversion data for the plurality of users to calculate the diversion score, the diversion score being indicative of a likelihood that a particular user is diverting a particular one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least one medication type; 
 combine the diversion scores for each of the plurality of particular forms of the at least one medication type for a single user within the comparison period to generate a group score for the single user, the group score associated with the at least one medication type; 
 generate a group threshold based on group scores for the plurality of users; 
 update the group score and the group threshold over each of a plurality of work shifts; 
 track the group scores from each of the plurality of work shifts against the group thresholds from each of the plurality of work shifts over a period of time representing the plurality of work shifts; 
 generate an overall diversion score based at least in part on the group scores for each of the at least one medication type and a diversion profile of the at least one medication type; 
 determine whether any user's overall diversion score exceeds an overall threshold; 
 flag any user whose overall diversion score exceeds the overall threshold as a possible diverter; 
 lock any flagged users out of at least one of the plurality of compartments of the interior of the medication dispensing system that is associated with the at least one medication type by actuating at least one of the plurality of mechanical locking mechanisms of the medication dispensing system to move the at least one of the plurality of mechanical locking mechanisms into a locked position such that the any flagged users do not have physical access to the at least one of the plurality of compartments of the interior that is associated with the at least one medication type; and 
 transmit over a network, using the communications interface, a lockout signal to the additional medication dispensing system that causes the additional medication dispensing system to lock the any flagged users out of the additional medication dispensing system by causing the actuation of an additional mechanical locking mechanism of the additional medication dispensing system to move the additional mechanical locking mechanism into a locked position such that the any flagged users do not have physical access to at least a portion of an interior of the additional medication dispensing system that is associated with the at least one medication type. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the diversion data comprises one or more of a number of instances an issuance of one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least medication type was inconsistent with a medical order, a number of instances one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least medication type was issued to a patient who should have been discharged, or a number of times a high amount or excessive amount of one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least medication type was issued. 
 
     
     
       3. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the diversion data is related to issuance of one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least medication type. 
 
     
     
       4. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 generate a trend chart comprising a history of overall diversion scores for each of the flagged users; and 
 cause each of the trend charts to be displayed on a remote device. 
 
     
     
       5. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 4 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 receive an input from the remote device, the input being associated with one of the flagged users; 
 generate group score trend chart comprising a history of the group score for the one of the flagged users; and 
 cause the group score trend chart to be displayed on the remote device. 
 
     
     
       6. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 retrieve a plurality of medical orders relating to medications issued from the medication dispensing system; and 
 analyze ordered medications from the plurality of medical orders against actual issuance of medications to identify instances of issuance of medications that were inconsistent with the plurality of medical orders. 
 
     
     
       7. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 1 , wherein:
 identifying diversion data for each user comprises comparing an amount of a particular drug dispensed from the medication dispensing system with medical documentation to identify the diversion data comprising discrepancies between the amount and the medical documentation. 
 
     
     
       8. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 generate trend data for one or more of the diversion scores, the group scores, or the overall diversion scores for each user; and 
 produce a graphical output of the trend data. 
 
     
     
       9. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the use data comprises one or more of a timestamp of a use, a record of an issuance of a particular drug, or a record of a cancellation of an issuance of the particular drug. 
 
     
     
       10. The medication dispensing system for identifying medical diverters of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the diversion data is only identified for a particular subset of medications and supplies. 
 
     
     
       11. A method for identifying medical diverters, the method comprising:
 identifying a user pool, the user pool comprising a plurality of users having similar job performance functions; 
 retrieving use data for each of the plurality of users from a medication dispensing system, wherein the use data is indicative of when each user accesses the medication dispensing system; 
 analyzing the use data to identify periods of use of the medication dispensing system for each user within the user pool; 
 determining boundaries of work shifts for each user based on the periods of use; 
 organizing the user pool into work shifts, wherein each work shift defines a contiguous period of time that a particular user of the plurality of users worked; 
 determining a comparison period comprising a time period within which users of the user pool may be compared; 
 identifying diversion data for each user within the comparison period, the diversion data being indicative of behavior associated with diversion of one of a plurality of particular forms of at least one medication type; 
 generating a diversion score for each of the plurality of particular forms of the at least one medication type by averaging the diversion data per number of work shifts worked for each user within the work shift during the comparison period and statistically comparing the averaged diversion data for the plurality of users to calculate the diversion score, the diversion score being indicative of a likelihood that a particular user is diverting a particular one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least one medication type; 
 combining the diversion scores for each of the plurality of particular forms of the at least one medication type for a single user within the comparison period to generate a group score for the single user, the group score associated with the at least one medication type; 
 generating a group threshold based on group scores for the plurality of users; 
 updating the group score and the group threshold over each of a plurality of work shifts; 
 tracking the group scores from each of the plurality of work shifts against the group thresholds from each of the plurality of work shifts over a period of time representing the plurality of work shifts; 
 generating an overall diversion score based at least in part on the group scores for each of the at least one medication type and a diversion profile of the at least one medication type; 
 determining whether any user's overall score exceeds an overall threshold; 
 flagging any user whose diversion score exceeds the overall threshold as a possible diverter; 
 locking any flagged users out of the medication dispensing system by causing the actuation of a mechanical locking mechanism of the medication dispensing system to move the mechanical locking mechanism into a locked position such that the any flagged users do not have physical access to at least a portion of an interior of the medication dispensing system that is associated with the at least one medication type; and 
 transmitting over a network, a lockout signal to an additional medication dispensing system that is located remotely from the medication dispensing system that causes the additional medication dispensing system to lock the any flagged users out of the additional medication dispensing system by causing the actuation of an additional mechanical locking mechanism of the additional medication dispensing system to move the additional mechanical locking mechanism into a locked position such that the any flagged users do not have physical access to at least a portion of an interior of the additional medication dispensing system that is associated with the at least one medication type. 
 
     
     
       12. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the diversion data comprises one or more of a number of instances an issuance of one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least medication type was inconsistent with a medical order, a number of instances one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least medication type was issued to a patient who should have been discharged, or a number of times a high amount or excessive amount of one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least one medication type was issued. 
 
     
     
       13. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the diversion data is related to issuance of one of the plurality of particular forms of the at least medication type. 
 
     
     
       14. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 generating a trend chart comprising a history of overall diversion scores for each of the flagged users; and 
 causing each of the trend charts to be displayed on a remote device. 
 
     
     
       15. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 receiving an input from the remote device, the input being associated with one of the flagged users; 
 generating group score trend chart comprising a history of the group score for the one of the flagged users; and 
 causing the group score trend chart to be displayed on the remote device. 
 
     
     
       16. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 retrieving a plurality of medical orders relating to medications issued from the medication dispensing system; and 
 analyzing ordered medications from the plurality of medical orders against actual issuance of medications to identify instances of issuance of medications that were inconsistent with the plurality of medical orders. 
 
     
     
       17. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 11 , wherein:
 identifying diversion data for each user comprises comparing an amount of a particular drug dispensed from the medication dispensing system with medical documentation to identify the diversion data comprising discrepancies between the amount and the medical documentation. 
 
     
     
       18. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 generating trend data for one or more of the diversion scores, the group scores, or the overall diversion score for each user; and 
 producing a graphical output of the trend data. 
 
     
     
       19. The method for identifying medical diverters of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the use data comprises one or more of a timestamp of a use, a record of an issuance of a particular drug, or a record of a cancellation of an issuance of the particular drug.